AGARTALA: While Sikkim hosts 122 bee pollinator species and Meghalaya 62, Tripura records a mere 10, making it the least bee-diverse state in the entire Northeast region, according to a MoSPI Environmental Accounting report citing Zoological Survey of India data, which attributes the low figure to either habitat constraints or insufficient research documentation.
The report, released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) as part of its Environmental Accounting Explainer Series on Pollination Services, presents a comprehensive state-wise breakdown of bee pollinator diversity across India. Pollination services refer to the ecological process by which bees and other insects transfer pollen between flowers, enabling plant reproduction.
Among the eight Northeast states, the contrast in bee diversity is striking. Sikkim leads the region with 122 species, comprising 113 free-living and 9 cleptoparasite species. Meghalaya follows with 62 species, Assam with 49 and Arunachal Pradesh with 38. Manipur records 14 species, while Mizoram and Nagaland each record 12. Tripura, with only 10 species, all free-living and with zero cleptoparasite bee species recorded, sits at the very bottom of the regional table.
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At the national level, Tripura shares its low count of 10 species with the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The report notes that states like Lakshadweep, Chandigarh and Tripura show minimal proportions of below 2 percent of India’s total recorded bee species, “indicating either genuinely lower bee diversity due to limited geographic area and habitat constraints, or insufficient research documentation.”
Nationally, Himachal Pradesh leads with 183 species, followed by Uttarakhand at 152 and Maharashtra at 142. The report notes that these states benefit from higher altitudinal variation, diverse vegetation zones, and greater forest cover. The northeastern region’s bee composition, the report observes, shows similarity to Southeast Asian fauna, distinct from the northwestern and trans-Himalayan states, which share characteristics with Palaearctic fauna.
According to the report, the variation in bee diversity across states reflects differences in climate, vegetation types, floral resource availability, and historical patterns of biodiversity research across regions.
